Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Could a part-time active retired circuit judge serve on a county Board of Human Resources?
The Commission said the judge was exempt from Canon 5G but still had to comply with Canon 2A, including any legal prohibition on holding public office. It declined to decide whether the cited…
Did recommending an attorney to a former employee five years earlier require the judge to recuse when that lawyer appeared for a party?
No. The Commission found no required disqualification under Canon 3C on those facts, although the judge could recuse if the judge found it appropriate.
May a juvenile judge hear a dependency dispositional review after serving as guardian ad litem for the children in the dependency proceeding?
No. The Commission held that the judge was disqualified because the review addressed the same dependency status in which the judge had acted as the children’s guardian ad litem.
May a municipal judge continue hearing cases when the judge’s wife is an assistant city attorney but does not appear before the judge?
Yes, on the stated facts. The Commission found no Canons violation when the wife did not appear, even though other city attorney staff prosecuted cases before the court; its reasoning disqualified…
May a circuit judge serve as member or chair of a nonprofit board focused on preventing youth drug and alcohol abuse?
Yes. The Commission permitted board or chair service under Canon 5B’s limits and expressly said the judge should not solicit funds for the organization.
Is a judge disqualified when the district attorney appearing in a criminal trial employs the judge’s son, who takes no part in that case?
No. The Commission said the judge was not disqualified so long as the son did not participate in any way in the proceeding.
May a district judge assigned to circuit court hear an appeal of a case the judge decided in district court, including a jury appeal?
No. In the combined Opinions 87-300 through 87-302, the Commission disqualified the judge from appeals from the judge’s own court regardless of who heard the original case or whether a jury would…
May a district judge assigned to circuit court hear an appeal from the judge’s district court when another judge heard the case below?
No. The Commission said the assigned judge was disqualified from hearing appeals from the judge’s own court even when another judge had decided the original district court case.
Must a judge recuse when an appearing attorney bought the judge’s former law practice and is paying a debt still recorded in the judge’s name?
Yes. In the combined Opinions 87-300 through 87-302, the Commission found disqualification because the judge depended on the appearing attorney to pay a debt for which the judge remained liable.
Could a part-time municipal judge serve as vice chair and then chair of a county United Way fundraising campaign?
No. The Commission said the judge should not take that role because Canon 5B(2) discouraged fundraising and solicitation, and part-time judges were not exempt from Canon 5B.
Could a circuit judge appoint a former judge as defense counsel in a criminal case in which that former judge had signed continuance orders?
No. The Commission said the judge should not make the appointment; Canon 1 required a barrier between the former judge’s judicial duties in the case and later attorney service.
May a district judge serve on the board of directors of a local Chamber of Commerce?
Yes. In the combined Opinions 87-295 and 87-296, the Commission said the Canons did not prohibit the judge from serving on the chamber board under Canon 5B.
Could a judge appear in an alcoholism awareness announcement that named a sponsoring hospital with a chemical-dependency unit?
The Commission said the judge should not appear while the hospital was named because the message could be seen as its advertisement; it said deleting the hospital name removed the Canons objection…
Could a circuit judge join the Attorney General’s task force studying victims’ rights and the rights of accused persons?
Yes. The Commission held that service on the described task force was permitted under Canon 4’s allowance for work to improve the law, legal system, and administration of justice.
Did the Commission decide whether a judge must recuse when the judge’s brother served on a bank’s local advisory board and the bank was a party?
No. With a mandamus petition on recusal pending before the Alabama Supreme Court, the Commission declined to issue an advisory opinion on the question.
Could a district judge serve on a child advocacy center board and speak about the center when the judge heard child abuse matters?
The Commission said board service was not permitted on the stated facts because it would require recusal in child abuse cases involving the center. General talks about child abuse were permitted,…
Must a judge recuse because a party claims to have filed a prior Judicial Inquiry Commission complaint that the judge did not know about?
No. The Commission said that a past complaint unknown to the judge, with none then pending, did not by itself require disqualification under Canon 3C.
Could a judge appoint a second cousin once removed as bailiff when that relative was the best-qualified candidate?
Yes, if the appointment rested solely on merit. The Commission classified that relation as seventh-degree kinship, outside the cited fourth-degree statutory prohibition.
Could a judge publicly congratulate a Girl Scout chapter on its anniversary using the judge’s name, title, and robe when the announcement was not fundraising?
Yes. The Commission said the Canons did not prohibit the described announcement or the judge’s use of name, title, and robe on those facts.
Did an appellate judge’s prior paid legal speech to an agency appearing as a party require recusal, and should the judge disclose it?
The Commission said the speaking engagement alone did not require recusal on the stated facts, but issues discussed at the speech might affect impartiality. It said the judge should inform the…
May a third party solicit contributions after an election to retire a new district judge’s campaign debt?
Yes. The Commission said Canon 7 permitted appropriate third-party fundraising to retire the debt, subject to Canon 7B’s campaign conduct limits.
Did the judicial Canons govern a former law clerk and bailiff’s practice announcement naming the judge without consent?
No. The Commission said the Canons did not govern the former employee’s announcement because the judge no longer had authority over its contents.
Could a judge’s spouse remain a sheriff’s sergeant, and when would the judge be disqualified from sheriff-related cases?
The Commission said the spouse’s employment was allowed. The judge was disqualified from proceedings involving the spouse or affecting her employment, while the employment alone did not disqualify…
Must a judge recuse from an estate dispute after acting as guardian ad litem in an accounting for the same estate 25 years earlier?
Yes. The Commission held that the earlier guardian ad litem work and the current heirship dispute concerned the same estate and matter in controversy under Canon 3C(1)(b).
Did a judge’s fee interests in two unresolved former-client cases require recusal from every case involving the judge’s former law firm?
No. The Commission said those two specific fee interests did not cause general disqualification from all former-firm cases; it required a case-by-case disqualification inquiry.
Did a lawyer who was the judge’s first cousin once removed automatically disqualify the judge?
No. The Commission said the relationship was in the fifth degree, outside Canon 3C’s first-four-degree kinship rule for an appearing attorney.
Did a judge become disqualified for forwarding trial documents suggesting possible crime to law enforcement?
No. The Commission found the stated facts insufficient to establish disqualifying personal bias and relied on Opinion 86-281 concerning a judge’s report of suspected wrongdoing disclosed at trial.
Did the judicial Canons require or forbid a judge’s report to law enforcement of suspected crime disclosed by trial evidence?
The Commission found neither a requirement nor a prohibition. It said a report ordinarily should follow the verdict and would not itself impair the court’s appearance of impartiality; it declined…
Could a circuit judge serve as chamber of commerce president while participating in a membership drive?
The Commission discouraged the described presidency because membership solicitation necessarily included fundraising and increased conflict risk under Canon 5B.
Did a judge’s ordinary bank loans or a close relative’s bank office require recusal when the bank was a party?
The original opinion said ordinary debt alone did not disqualify, but called for disclosure and recusal on request; Opinion 09-903 later rejected that automatic inference. A close relative’s officer…
Would putting a lawyer-tenant’s building in a blind trust, selling it to the judge’s parents, or allowing a sublease remove recusal concerns?
The Commission said a known lawyer tenant in a blind trust still disqualified the judge. Parent ownership and third-party subleases required disclosure and recusal when the cited interests or…
Could a district judge serve on an appointed board of school trustees?
Yes. In the combined letter, the Commission said Canon 5B permitted the described trusteeship within its stated limits and governed instead of the general Canon 5G provision.
Could a retired Alabama district judge practice law after repeal of the cited statutory prohibition?
Yes, unless serving full-time on a state court. The Commission said the repealed statute no longer barred practice and the compliance provisions exempted other retired judges from Canon 5F.
Could an Alabama Supreme Court justice publish and market a book on criminal procedure?
Yes. The Commission allowed legal writing and marketing of a judge’s treatise, so long as the judge did not use judicial position to market it or let marketing interfere with judicial duties.
Must a judge recuse from every prosecution by an office employing the judge’s son as an assistant district attorney?
No. The Commission said recusal was required when the son was known to be involved in the case, but his employment alone did not disqualify the judge from every prosecution by the office.
Did a criminal defendant’s apparently frivolous federal civil-rights suit against the judge require the judge to recuse?
No. The Commission said the suit’s mere filing did not disqualify the judge on these facts, while emphasizing that each case required consideration on its merits.
Could a part-time active retired judge receive pay for serving as a state college personnel hearing officer?
Canon 5 did not prohibit the described paid service, the Commission said. It left the effect of any separate legal pay restriction to the Alabama Ethics Commission and identified Canon 2A’s duty to…
Who must sign a Canon 3D remittal when the judge is related to a party or appearing attorney?
All parties and lawyers must sign the agreement, including the attorney related to the judge, the Commission said.
May a judge hear a case in which the judge earlier acted as lawyer or guardian ad litem for the child or a parent?
No. The Commission said Canon 3C disqualified the judge from a proceeding in which the judge had previously served as attorney or guardian ad litem.
May a judge send bar commissioners a character recommendation for a lawyer facing discipline?
Canon 2C did not categorically bar the letter, the Commission said, but it prohibited one if the recipient was engaged or likely to be engaged in proceedings before the judge. It expressly overruled…
Did an uncle’s partnership in a law firm representing a party disqualify the judge?
This 1986 opinion said yes and called for Canon 3D remittal. Opinion 88-338 later overruled or modified that automatic approach, requiring a case-specific assessment of impartiality and the uncle’s…
Did a judge’s earlier probation revocation based on the alleged act automatically disqualify the judge from the criminal trial of that act?
No. The Commission said the prior revocation decision did not per se disqualify the judge from the separate criminal proceeding.
Could a part-time municipal judge accept an insurer’s assignment to defend the city where the judge served?
Yes, on the stated facts. The Commission found no appearance of impropriety where the attorney-judge had regularly represented the insurer’s other insureds before this city assignment.
Could judges rotate authorship of an unpaid newspaper column explaining legal issues?
The Commission allowed a narrowly limited law-education column if it did not cast doubt on impartiality or promote the newspaper; judges could not give legal advice or comment on substantive law.
Did the judicial Canons require a judge to tell a grand jury about possible crime revealed in camera during counsel’s withdrawal request?
The Commission found no Canons duty or prohibition on disclosure. It separately noted that Canon 3B(3) could require disciplinary action if counsel had a disclosure duty and failed to fulfill it.
Did a judge’s uncle or the uncle’s law firm automatically disqualify the judge, compared with second or third cousins?
The 1986 opinion required recusal for the uncle and his firm but not for more distant cousins. Opinion 88-338 later overruled or modified the automatic firm-affiliation rule to the extent of conflict.
Could a judge ride in a sponsored charitable bike event when a radio station arranged pledges and the judge did not know the sponsors?
Yes. The Commission allowed participation on those facts, provided the judge did not solicit funds or let the event use judicial prestige for solicitation.
Does a judge’s earlier representation in a federal class action require recusal from a later case relying on that action’s decree?
It depends. The Commission said legal-precedent use alone did not disqualify, but a decree urged as binding on a party in the later case did under Canon 3C(1)(b).
Does a judge’s or immediate family member’s ordinary bank account disqualify the judge from a case involving that bank?
No, not by itself. The Commission said disqualification depended on whether the account holder’s interest could be substantially affected by the case’s outcome.
Must a judge recuse from a prosecution begun while the judge was an assistant district attorney if the judge had no role or knowledge then?
No. The Commission said the judge was not disqualified on those facts because the former prosecutor had neither participated in nor known of the case.
Did an appearing lawyer from the judge’s first cousin’s firm, or a first-cousin expert witness of the judge’s spouse, require recusal?
The original opinion required recusal for both and allowed remittal. Opinion 88-338 later modified the automatic law-firm affiliation rule; the separate expert-witness ground was stated under Canon…
Could a district judge chair drinking-and-driving and seat-belt safety programs and speak in public service messages?
Yes. The Commission said the described leadership, advertising, and speaking were not prohibited, subject to Canons 4 and 5.
Could a retired active circuit judge serve as a paid arbitrator or mediator?
Yes. The Commission said the Canons’ Compliance section exempted retired active judges from Canon 5E’s restriction on arbitration and mediation.
Could a judge appoint a qualified second cousin as judicial secretary?
Yes, if based on merit rather than nepotism. The Commission said a second cousin was in the sixth degree, outside the statute’s absolute fourth-degree bar.
Must a judge recuse when appearing counsel rents a residence from the judge’s wife and her aunt?
Yes. The Commission said the rental relationship made the judge’s impartiality reasonably questionable under Canon 3C(1).
May class representatives remit a judge’s disqualification for all absent members of a class action?
No. The Commission said Canon 3D’s written agreement was personal to every party and lawyer, so class representatives could not consent on behalf of the class.
Could a part-time municipal judge participate in another person’s campaign for a nonjudicial office?
Yes. The Commission said Canon 7A strongly discouraged but did not prohibit the described participation, provided the judge followed Canon 7’s conditions.
Could a part-time municipal judge also serve as a part-time assistant district attorney, and what case limits applied?
The Commission said the Canons did not prohibit both roles, but disqualification required case-by-case review and the judge could not act as prosecutor in a matter previously handled as judge or a…
Does a judge’s stock in a corporate party or checking account at a bank party require recusal?
The Commission disqualified a judge holding stock in a corporate party. An ordinary bank checking account alone did not disqualify, unless the account was in issue or substantially affected.
Could a presiding judge appoint the judge’s niece as county law librarian, a position subordinate to the judge?
No. The Commission said Canon 3B(4) barred appointing a relative within the prohibited degree to a subordinate position even if the county-funded librarian post was not strictly a state position.
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Legal ethics opinions from the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are advisory, not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.